Directed by Jeff Wadlow
Starring DeWanda Wise, Pyper Braun, Taegen Burns, and Betty Buckley

The opening scene of this new Blumhouse Production where someone is having a spider nightmare ironically features straight after a preview to the upcoming spider horror flick (yes, requires its own genre!), Sting. My concerns that Imaginary would be as lame as Sting appears to be were initially quashed… until an atrocious finale proves otherwise.

To conceptualise a new horror movie devised from having an imaginary friend might not be a particularly enticing or intellectual idea, but it is a rather original one on paper. That originality draws (some) curiosity.

The youngster whom that imaginary friend belongs to is Alice (Pyper Braun). Interestingly, that imaginary friend is not purely a figment of her imagination but rather has a physical existence in the form of a plush toy named Chauncey that I chose to label as Ted’s evil cousin. How the filmmakers choose to make this work is a problem in itself they could never find a workable solution for. More on that shortly. Alice discovers Ted’s evil cousin while meandering through her stepmother’s (played by DeWanda Wise) family home, which she and her teenage sister Taylor (Taegen Burns) are staying at for the weekend. Jessica (the stepmum) is at first unfazed by Alice’s new companion, but when she learns Ted’s evil cousin is seemingly and somehow influencing Alice to partake in sinister games, she quickly becomes very concerned. 

For roughly two thirds of its duration, Imaginary actually does a reasonable job of creating and maintaining some form of suspense in several scenes and it also exhibits effective utilisation of lighting. These aspects, as well as the consistent and solid performances of DeWanda Wise and Pyper Braun, might do enough for long enough to satisfy those with little expectations.

Ironically again, however, Imaginary is seriously lacking in imagination.

I mentioned earlier the format used to make imaginary friend exist is a problem. Visually, it’s acceptable. Its script, however, is massively under-developed and misses an opportunity to derive some form of psychological element. After all, where do imaginary friends really exist!?

Throughout, Imaginary follows a tried and tested formula, which renders it formulaic at best. Almost every horror trope, from the father who needs to be away while Ted’s evil cousin comes to life to the overly intrusive neighbour (played by an extremely wooden Betty Buckley) who knows a thing or two about him, is present here. While the film does draw some further curiosity in developing Jessica’s upbringing and how this is connected with the present timeline, it is evident quite early that genuine creativity ended at conception in this production. 

Even if Imaginary remains passable as it approaches its final act, its revelations to Ted’s evil cousin’s origin is best summed up as a D-grade Stranger Things rip off. In fact, there are several movies and I’m sure TV series as well that Imaginary derives and attempts to repackage ideas from. Furthermore, it opts to go into horror autopilot mode during its finale, where it becomes laughably silly and nonsensical. 

You’re better off remaining in the company of your own imaginary friend. Not recommended.

Imaginary is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from March 7th.

Moviedoc thanks Studiocanal and Annette Smith: Ned & Co for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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